Tazria/M’tzora

The second of this week’s two parshiyot, M’tzora, teaches about homes that required ritual purification because of certain molds or funguses growing in their walls. A person who saw such a  home was to go to a priest and say “it appears to me like a plague in the house.”

The Mishnah, in its reading of that passage, focused on the word “like.” It taught that a person should never declare that what he saw is definitely a plague,  even if he is a scholar and knows for sure that it is. Instead he should say that it is “like” a plague” (Mishnah, Tractate Negaim 12:5). In other words, it is a mitzvah to withhold judgment on a person’s home, and all the more so on a person’s self.

In Pirkei Avot, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Perahya taught that, when we judge another person, we should always tip the balance in that person’s favor. May we always strive to give each other, and the homes that we create, the benefit of the doubt.

• Due to Covid, The New Shul’s Shabbat morning service takes place outdoors and off-site, on the grounds of the Sandpiper School, 6724 E. Hearn Rd, from 9:30 to 11:30 am on Saturday mornings. Everyone is welcome. Please use the west parking lot and come around to the back of the school. Masks and social distancing are required (for distancing purposes, you might want to bring your own chair). During the warm weather, you might also want to bring water. Informal attire is fine.
• The kiddush this Shabbat, April 17, is sponsored by Jim and Sandy Meyer in honor of Sandy’s birthday.
• All other New Shul events continue online. They include: Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday afternoons (5:30 pm this Friday), Havdalah (7:45 pm this Saturday night), daily text study, and weekly classes. Please contact us for the Zoom link.